Libya’s former interior minister announced Thursday his bid to run for president in the much-anticipated elections next month, the latest candidate to join the race for the highest office in the oil-rich nation devastated by years of civil war.
Fathi Bashagha submitted his candidacy papers in the capital of Tripoli, and declared that his political platform envisages “a new Libya" based on justice, respect for human rights and a market-led economy.
The 59-year-old is the fourth candidate to join the race, which has so far seen three controversial figures announce their bids, including a son of the country’s late dictator Moammar Gadhafi and a powerful military commander.
The vote faces growing uncertainty. Libya has been wracked by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled Gadhafi in 2011. The country had for years been split between a government in the east and a U.N.-supported administration in Tripoli, aided by western-based militias. Each side has also had the support of mercenaries and foreign forces from Turkey, Russia and Syria and different regional powers.
“Libya will not go back to pre-2011. We will build a new Libya," Bashagha told reporters in announcing his bid. “We will bring an end to suffering, tears and blood."
“Libya will turn from a rentier state into a free-market economy," he added. “We will be embracing reform, reconciliation and the reconstruction.”
A former air force pilot and businessman, Bashagha served as interior minister from 2018 until earlier this year in the U.N.-supported government headed by Fayez Sarraj, establishing himself as a powerful figure in western Libya. He cultivated ties with Turkey, France and the United States, but also with Egypt and Russia which backed his nominal rivals in the intra-Libyan conflict.